It’s happened a thousand times: You hear a song, you buy the album,
and the other eleven tracks are duds. At these accommodating CD shops,
however, you can try before you buy. Listen up.

227
Smith Street, Brooklyn
718-260-9299Give the jazz, soul, funk, and electronic music a spin, on vinyl or CD --
and down an espresso milkshake at the bar or browse the impressive display
of mid-century-modern collectibles at this cozy Cobble Hill hotspot.

33 East 17th Street; 212-253-0810 675 Sixth
Avenue, near 21st Street; 212-727-1227 1972 Broadway, at 66th Street;
212-595-6859
Surprising but true: From Mahler to the Magnetic Fields, if the CD has a
barcode on it, you can scan it at a listening station and preview to your
ears’ content.

77 East
10th Street212-780-9166
This used-vinyl dealer specializes in jazz and soul. Customers may sample up
to five records at a time -- or more, if there’s no line.

4. Throb

47 Orchard Street
212-925-6069
A paradise for D.J.’s and obsessive record collectors alike, Throb --
recently relocated from its East 14th Street location -- offers five
turntables for sampling its huge array of electronica, as well as the
enticement of regular sales.

5. Sonic Groove Records

41 Carmine
Street
212-675-5284
The electronic-dance-music purveyor has plentiful turntables and even more
plentiful listening rules that come with a warning to would-be shoplifters:
“We are from Brooklyn, and we know the drill.”